CES 2016: Dell puts OLED displays into Alienware, Ultrasharp lineups

11 January 2016

By Wesley "CataclysmZA" Fick

The buzzword for CES 2016 is “OLED”, and it’s a display technology that’s going to take over the monitor business by storm. TN, IPS, VA, IGZO, are almost all incomparable next to the first generation of OLED displays coming to market. One of those is possibly the first desktop OLED monitor designed for computer use, the Dell UP3017Q. It will retail for around $5000 when it launches in March 2016, and it will have a native UltraHD 4K resolution, or 3840 x 2160 pixels. The UP3017Q will offer all of the latest display outputs including HDMI 2.0, DP1.3, and USB 3.1 through the on-board hub. It won’t be compatible with variable refresh technology, and it’ll only run at 60Hz, but that’s still much, much closer to being an affordable OLED for professional use.

Dell also announced that they’ll be putting an OLED display into another product. The company will be updating the Alienware 13 R3 with a slightly faster Intel Skylake processor, as well as a native 2560 x 1440 OLED display measuring 13.3 inches wide. This will replace the 13.3-inch IGZO 3200 x 1800 display that was currently available as an optional upgrade when you configure the notebook through the Alienware website.

With Windows 10 scaling set to 200%, the usable space on the desktop shrinks to 1280 x 720 pixels, but that will be twice as sharp as any other comparable IPS display, with the OLED technology allowing for higher contrast ratios, deeper blacks, and a larger colour gamut. Microsoft has a fix on the way to get Windows scaling working properly, so this could be the year in which everything finally comes together for a simultaneous generational leap for computing. The Alienware 13 R2 with OLED display will have a starting price of $1499, with that price increasing if you change some of the default options in the Dell configurator.

If you want to see OLED tech working in person, you don’t have to travel to CES! A few weeks ago I popped into my local Dion Wired store and spotted the LG 55-inch 55EG910T on display. Granted, it is 1080p on a ginormous display, but the OLED demos are quite something, and will help get you as hyped as I am for this shift in display technology. I’m probably not helping anyone’s case to not overspend on a OLED display when they start hitting $1000 overseas, though. It’s really that good.

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